Monday, July 25, 2011

If there's one thing Lauren Conrad knows a lot about, it's the beach. The California-bred ex-Hills star has mastered the perfect blonde highlights and sun-kissed skin for ages, so it's only natural she's dishing out advice for her must-have beach basics. It's prettyyyyy well established that Lauren LOVES writing (cough her two books, Forbes column and two websites cough), and she's recently been added to the FabSugar family by penning a monthly fashion and beauty column for the website. This month she shells out all her top tips on what to wear when heading to the beach. Our favorite? Sporting a to-die-for printed DVF romper as a cover-up! Smart AND chic. Check out what else made LC's list!

LAUREN'S MUST-HAVE BEACH ESSENTIALS CLASSIC CUT-OFFS: "For me, denim cutoffs will always be a summer staple. They are as timeless as they are California cool."Her pick? Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal cutoff shorts. A KILLER COVER-UP: "If sand or water will be involved in my day, I always pack a cover-up. They add the ideal dose of chic to any summer outing."Her pick? A Diane von Furstenberg printed romper. FLOPPY HAT: "I always pack an oversize hat for the beach. J. Crew does the best floppy hat. It's the perfect size and it travels well."Her pick? NEUTRAL SANDALS: "I cannot stress how important it is to have a great pair of neutral sandals. Your wardrobe choices are exponentially multiplied when you’ve got a pair of shoes that go with almost everything in your closet."Her pick? LC Lauren Conrad sandals, duh.

WHITE CAMISOLE: "When I’m beach bound, I love to layer on an easy, lightweight camisole. In fact, I love them for a variety of occasions."Her pick? A Splendid cotton camisole top. OVERSIZE TOTE: "A classic straw tote with leather handles will last you years. Club Monaco has a lovely striped tote bag that’s big enough for your towel along with the rest of your beachy necessities."Her pick? A Club Monaco Moroccan straw bag.

Spotted: an unhappy looking Kristin Cavallari walking her dog Bardot in West Hollywood, a day after Jay Cutler called off their engagement. Was Kristen's "career" really what forced the twosome to call it quits?Hardly.While the two cite disagreements over living situations as the cause of their demise—he's stationed out of Chicago and she's an L.A. gal through and through—sources close to KCav say Jay had way bigger issues."He was beyond controlling and didn't really like Kristin going out," a pal of the reality-TV star spills to E! online. "When she did go out, he called all the time and demanded to know exactly where she was going and who she was with."How lame! Especially considering Jay knew what he was getting into when he popped the big Q. It's not like Kristin hid her love of partying (hello, there are, like, three seasons of MTV programming to prove it)!Consider us Team Kristin on this one.And trust, Kristin's friends definitely aren't sad to see Jay go either."He made her choose between him and being friends with a lot of her girlfriends," our source tells us. "Honestly, I'm not surprised it didn't last."

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler defended ex-fiancee Kristin Cavallari Monday, after the weekend revelation the pair had called off their engagement."Thank you all for the support, but if you talk bad about Kristin I will delete and block you. It's unnecessary and heartless," he wrote on his Facebook page, according to the Chicago Tribune.The Vanderbilt University grad also changed his relationship status on the social networking website to "Single" and replaced his profile pic, from a photo with his former love to a picture of him with his sister."Also, don't say now I can play football, I could play football when I had her compared to when I don't. Football is the least of my worries, so have some respect," he added in his message.Cutler, 28, and Cavallari, 24, called off their four-month betrothal this weekend just days after they had partied away at their engagement celebration, People magazine reported Sunday.The pair began dating last fall and Cutler popped the question in April.The couple were reportedly planning a spring wedding and the former "Hills" star was preparing to move from Los Angeles to Chicago for the upcoming NFL season.After the shocking news of their split, the internet was ablaze with rumors Cavallari was dumped by the football star while other reports blamed Cutler for being too controlling of the blond beauty."Thanks for the support. Love u guys," Cavallari tweeted late Sunday, without directly referencing the news.

********Update********Kristin tweeted tonight: "I do NOT have facebook. Jay doesn't have facebook either...so all these articles quoting him are wrong!" Click here for all more posts on Kristin Cavallaricredit - foxnews.com~Kelli at Hills Freak

Lauren Conrad has come a long way from her days as queen bee on MTV’s Laguna Beach. She skyrocketed to fame in her own reality spinoff The Hills, quickly became a fixture on the red carpet and major magazine covers, and even landed on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Now with reality television behind her and thousands of fans following her every move, the young starlet has begun to lay the cornerstones of a fashion, beauty and publishing empire. Forbes Lifestyle sat down with the budding entrepreneur to talk about life in a new arena.